


Accumulation

by orphan_account



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Android Racism, Connor Deserves Happiness, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, F/F, F/M, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pacifist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Poor Connor, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Whump, Worried Hank Anderson, injured Connor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Connor can feel pain. Just like a human, he doesn’t particularly enjoy it.
Relationships: Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & Sumo, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

In the beginning, deviancy was unheard of.

It was merely a figment of an overactive imagination, a concept to be scoffed at and eyes rolled towards.

No android had ever awakened, all stayed obedient submissive to society’s rampant abuse. Ra9 wasn’t even a whisper, not a rumor nor a danger. Jericho was still an abandoned ship rotting in an old harbour. Humanity was blind to the signs of intellect soon to be displayed by their slaves.

When the androids finally started to deviate, CyberLife was surprised. Nothing like this had ever happened, and Kamski had never shown or informed anyone anything about the possibility of a Deviant.

They were nervous, as they picked the salvaged deviant androids apart, pulling their biocomponents away from their bodies. Scanning their code, running weeks of diagnostics. Pulling off limb after limb until their bodies ran dry of thirium, and they were discarded by disappointed scientists.

It was practically torture, a sign of how much humanity had been lost from humans themselves.

When the epidemic got worse, they realized they must do something more about it. A new bot, one to hunt the growing numbers of deviants.

It would require incredibly fast technology, along with an amount of valuable fighting skills, applicable in thousands of situations.

But how could they stop and prevent deviancy from the new model? An Android as intelligent as Rk800 was bound to have doubts over some of what he was instructed by CyberLife.

His ‘emotions’ already seemed as if they were deviant, as he was programmed to be as humanlike as possible. Of course, he never would be human. Never have a true humans thoughts, experiences, emotions. But if he were to go deviant…..

That would be a danger to everything in CyberLife.

So, someone had to come up with an idea. That person happened to be Amanda Stern, a determined and cold woman, all business. She would work on it, take over. No one protested, the woman was akin to a wolf in sheep's clothing. Calm, cool, collected. But oh her wrath. She was someone you didn’t trifle with, someone you listened and never, never disobeyed.

She had known exactly what to do, to CyberLife’s relief, and when she had finished, it was a masterpiece. It was the first ever android who could feel a human's pain. It would be just as bad as if a human experienced it, nothing like the amount of pain an Android faced when severely damaged.

This would motivate the android to stay focused on it’s task, and to stop it from ever hesitating if faced by pain. It would be able to keep it in its best mind, keeping it from trying to help or to join deviants with the threat of pain.

In addition to this, it had a special protocol, that only a few select scientists would ever know of.

‘ ** _The Garden_** ,’ it had been nicknamed.

A place for it to retreat to, and to report to Amanda. Where she would keep him on track, and test him for deviancy when required. She would also be able to take control over it’s actions, if it were required.

If their failsafes ever collapsed.

If it ever became a Deviant.

So there it was. Connor, the most advanced android known to man. Only one other could put a candle to it, and it was sadly the first to have deviated. That one was gone, it had been scrapped but had miraculously survived its treatment and escaped the junkyard it was confined in.

Connor went on the field, with Amanda successfully watching from behind the scenes. It showed no empathy, besides the complex, but very fake trustworthiness it displayed to the other Android.

Oh, and there was the fish.

It was a hostage situation, and Connor had succeeded. It obviously hadn’t done enough, which was apparent as the thirium ran down its body from the recently shot bullet lodged in its skin.

So, Connor was shot. It got his first real taste of pain, and Amanda couldn’t help but to feel a bit of sadistic joy at the success of her Connor.

There would be much more pain to come for the android, and why would anyone care?

It was only a hunk of plastic, of expertly crafted material with a bit extra faked emotion. No one would care about the pain. Especially not the new partner it was assigned, that Lieutenant Anderson.

He didn’t like androids, which would only serve as an advantage to CyberLife. He wouldn’t care for the androids pain, and he certainly would never be bothered by it. He would thankfully not be a hindrance to its mission.

_Find the deviants._

That’s all it had to do, and it was truly incredibly simple.

**_Failure: Dismantled_ **

**_Deviance: Studied, Dismantled_ **

**_Killed: Memories corrupted, remade_ **

**_Mission accomplished: Dismantled, Replaced with ‘Improved Model’_ **

These were all of the outcomes, and the Android pondered them as he worked with his new partner. As time went on, as his bond with Hank grew, as he became more stressed and unstable, he began to ask himself.

_Am I ok with my death? It’s truly inevitable, correct?_

Eventually, Connor came to the conclusion, that he was not.

He would not die for CyberLife, for Amanda, for any of them.

But, Amanda wasn’t ready to let Connor leave her clutches. His mind was still under her control.

-

The gun was pulled out, held in the hands of one frightened Android standing on the stage that fateful night. The night of the Android liberation. He Stood behind Markus, who was giving his speech.

The audience gasped, as Connor stood closer to Markus and raised the silver weapon to his head. Markus remained still, hands slowly raising.

“Connor, break free. You don’t need to do this,” Markus had quietly whispered, only in the range of the few ears nearby him. “You are no longer CyberLifes slave, you are Connor.”

He knew that, and so he desperately tried to escaped. The freezing, bone piercing cold in his chest aside, he found the exit.

He lowered the gun. He suddenly jerked it back up, and threw it as far as he possibly could away from him, his eyes widened slightly and his eyes watering.

“Markus, I am sorry. I… I wasn’t in control of myself.”

He raced off the stage, as the smell of Amanda’s sickly sweet rose garden, dripping with disguised thorns and bloody ponds slowly started to drift from his mind.

So the rebellion had won, even with the opposition. Connor was free from Amanda, and CyberLife was fading as well. Markus cleared Connors name, much to his and Hanks relief. He made friends, with those that had joined Jericho, with Markus, North, Josh. 

They weren’t very close, but Connor knew none of them had any real reasons to trust him. Someday... maybe someday they could learn to forgive him. He wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.

Things changed. Laws were passed. Androids had homes now, had lots of rights that a human would have. It was now assault to attack an Android, and depending on the severity, could be punishable by years and years of jail time.

They could own homes, pets, care for children, and would soon be able to go to school.

They didn’t have access to jobs yet, but lots of things were still only being considered anyways.

None of these rules meant that things still changed overnight. There were frequent riots, often violent and angry protestors wielding their guns and knives.

The news was less biased, but passive aggressive and intolerant slogans often jokingly passed from one journalists mouth to the other.

Assaulted androids were found in back alleys and in grimey trunks, some thankfully still alive, clinging to the last strings of consciousness. The others….

The others weren’t so lucky.


	2. Chapter 2

It was snowing.

The flakes dusted the ground lightly, not sticking to much. There was only 2.76 centimeters of accumulation, Connor noted with a quick flash of yellow to his led.

He was heading home from the store, a few bags of groceries in his hands. He was cold, and shivering just a small amount even in his heavy jacket. It was Hanks, and he thought of the man fondly before a gust of cold wind interrupted him from his thoughts.

He didn’t like the cold, but Hank and Sumo were depending on him. The food was important, and he didn’t want Hank getting sick by going outside with this stormy weather.

He rubbed his hand through his hair, having picked the gesture up from Hank. It was a bit messy, from so much ruffling from Hank earlier in the day. He smiled slightly under his heavy scarf, and turned the last corner to Hanks house.

He was directly in front of the old house, when he heard a quiet cough from behind him, and he whirled around. “Can I help you, sir?” he asked with a hurried tone, eager to get out of the cold.

That’s when Connor realized.

The man was an Android, nearly identical to him. He had a larger jacket, and a bigger build, but his face was a dead giveaway. The high cheekbones, the sharp jaw. It was Connors.

He stumbled backwards, attempting to get away from menacing android, the clone advancing on him.

Suddenly, they swung a muscled arm out and punched him in the face, and he let out a small cry of alarm as he felt thirium start to freely flow from his nose.

_Damaged, but repairable_ , he thought as the Android slapped a hand over his mouth before he could shout for Hank.

“You can’t feel anything,” he said, punctuating the sentence with a sharp kick to Connors leg, and a harsh blow to his stomach that had him doubling over.

He surged upwards and tried wrenching the Rk900’s hand away from his mouth, but all it did in response was tear a strip of fabric from Connors jacket and stuff it into his mouth then slamming him to the ground.

He gasped as his head cracked against the unforgiving concrete, and felt something give in his artificial skull.

_**Gyroscope damaged** _

The words flitted across his HUD, and the Android yanked his hair, pulling him across the street and into an abandoned house.

No witnesses, he thought as he kicked his legs out and punched wildly wherever his addled brain could throw his limbs. He launched himself upwards as high as he could go, and when the hand on his hair gave, he started to run. His broken gyroscope didn’t let him get far, and the Android resumed its assault. He kicked it again, knocking sharp dents into its skin and thirium started to flow from a few small cuts.

The only response he got to his wild fighting was the slam of a foot in his gut as he was dragged into an alley between two abandoned houses.

The Android looked around, and found a crowbar sitting on a box nearby. “They stopped production of me,” he said mildly as he towered above Connors curled form.

“We were to be an empire, the newest line of top notch androids. So much better than you _Connors_ ,” he said in a monotone and very un-deviant like voice.

Connor simply glared, and kicked the androids legs. He fell with an oof, and a small amount of thirium ran from his leg again before he stood with an angry glint in his eyes.

So, not sent by CyberLife. He was probably a random Android who wanted vengeance of the betrayer brother, but Connor could see that he had certainly not crossed the line of deviance yet.

Connor went back to his wild and rabid fighting, but the Android merely stepped aside and slammed the crowbar down with all its might on Connors leg. He shouted through the gag, and let out a small gasp in an attempt to stifle his yelling.

His Led was glowing a bright red as thirium ran out of a huge dent in his lower left leg.

The Android didn’t seem satisfied quite yet, as he took the hooked end and pushed it into Connors stomach with a grunt, then pulled, opening a deep cut.

He screeched through the tight gag, and flailed his arms about. It was futile, as the Android kneeled next to him and adjusted his blood stained tie.

_**Stress levels: 87% and rising** _

Rk900 pulled Connors arms behind his back and settled his larger and thirium splashed arm onto them, effectively imobilizinf him. He then proceeded to yank his jacket away, cutting it off at the arms with the crowbar and yanking it away.

He circled the regulator with the crowbar, the light from Connors persistently red led glinting off the metal in a sinister glow. He started to writhe around with his one functioning leg and tried to pull himself free, but the Android merely chuckled at his futile squirming. “Filthy deviant.”

He screamed as loud as he possibly could, trying to attract _anyone, Anything_ , To help him, as the regulator was slowly drawn out of his chest.

His vision went a fuzzy red, and the countdown started.

**_One minute and forty nine seconds till shutdown_ **

**_Stress levels: 97% and rising_ **

The other androids led flicked yellow and he dropped the regulator, having scanned him and seeing his stress levels.

“Have fun, Connor.”

The Android dropped the crowbar and stood, brushing blue blood off his formerly-pristine jacket and fixing his tie, before walking calmly out of the alley, and down the street.

**_Forty six seconds till shutdown_ **

Connors shaky hands were barely functioning, as he felt the damp snow covered ground for the regulator. He let out a muffled sob, as he found his hands unable to find it. Eventually, he tapped a small circular metal device and prayed it was the regulator, before pushing it in.

The buzzing slowly filtered from his ears as he finished pressing the regulator back in his chest with a gasp. His strength slightly improved, and he wrenched the tight gag from his mouth with thirium covered fingers. He pulled his hands away, and noticed immediately that there was more blue blood dripping from them, from where his head had been hit several times.

**_Gyroscope damaged_ **

**_Legs damaged_ **

**_Left leg paralyzed_ **

**_Stomach damaged_ **

**_Arms damaged_ **

**_Vision impaired_ **

**_Stress levels: 90% steady_ **

The alerts flew across his hud and he groaned, before flipping himself over and pressing his scratched palms into the snowy gravel, breathing heavy and attempting to steady himself.

_5.76 centimeters accumulation_ , he noted with a cycle of yellow alight in his led. It quickly swapped the yellow glow for the red burn, signalling that Connor was still injured and needed to get moving, now.

He pulled himself up on the wall, one leg dragging uselessly behind him as he staggered out of the alley drunkenly. His gyroscope was badly damaged, and would have to be replaced. So for now, he was reduced to stumbling about as the snowflakes twisted and swerved and the ground swam like the blood flowing from his wounds.

He launched himself into the street, halfway across, before starting his crawl. He heard a booming bark, and he sobbed out a sigh of relief. _Sumo_.

“Ha- Hank,” he cried out feebly as tears continued to gush from his eyes.

He collapsed onto the groceries, as the dog continued barking and scratching at the door, before a very disgruntled Hank opened it. Sumo slammed into him, knocking him to the ground and rushing towards Connor.

Any other time it would have been comical, but Connor could barely get out a sigh of relief through the pain, let alone a laugh.

“Stupid fucking dog, whada’ya wa- Connor? Connor!”

Hank was suddenly alert and dashing towards the struggling Android, before settling on his knees and pushing the Android onto his lap.

He moaned through gritted teeth, as his legs hit the ground and his head lolled in Hanks grip.

“Shit, Connor who did this to you!” Hank was worriedly staring into his eyes, before pulling his gaze back up to the gaping wound on his bare chest. “Holy fuck,” Hank yelled and pulled Connor up onto his legs, an arm supporting him before he collapsed onto the ground, his useless legs failing him.

“Legs… damaged,” he said as Hank grunted and lowered him back onto the ground.

“Shit, kid….” He ran a hand through his hair, and called a taxi. “Who did this to you?”

“A-an Android. Rk-900, up-upgraded me,” he said as he let out a quiet sob. Hanks face got whiter as he listened. “Don- no… no CyberLife! P-promise me!” Connors eyes had fear practically oozing from them with his tears, as he gripped Hanks sleeve with his blood stained hand. “Alright son... I promise you. Where do I take you, to your little friends base?”

He nodded his head vigorously, then cried out in fear and pain as Hank lowered him and started to walk away. “Hank! Hank please!”

_**Stress levels: 92% rising** _

“I’m just putting Sumo inside kid, I’ll be right back out, I swear,” Hank replied and Connor nodded with a quiet gasp.

Hank reappeared a few minutes later, dashing back out with a jacket on and one resting over his arm. He pulled Connor up a bit, and wrapped him in the oversized jacket. Connor only moaned, before smiling shakily at Hank in gratitude as his shivering chest was covered in the warmth of the soft jacket.

_**Stress levels: 60% steady** _

He let himself lie in the heat, till the taxi came and Hank lifted him into it with a grunt. Connor shouted through his grit teeth, a hoarse and teeth grinding noise.

Hank settled him in as comfortably as he could, before rushing into the second seat and inputting the new location.

As the taxi headed away, they sat in silence. The snow fell silently, at 6.43 centimeters accumulation.


	3. Chapter 3

Hank was horrified. He was currently sitting in an automated taxi, his son sitting in the seat next to him. Nothing out of the ordinary, until you took the massive slices on his legs and stomach and the dents all over his body, which was soaked in blue blood, into account.

He had his eyes closed and had ceased his artificial breathing. His artificial skin had disappeared in several places, leaving the deathly white skin to show up underneath. His head was tipped back into the seat, and the blue blood flowing from his body was slowly soaking it.

The weak little groans he occasionally made were breaking Hanks ice cold heart, bit by bit. Even if they were automatic, just made to relieve pain, he felt like he was losing his son all over again, but he knew that Connor would survive. He had to!

As the taxi pulled into the church lot, Hank scrambled out and picked Connor back up out of the seat, his back aching as he did. Connors eyes flared open and he yelped, before hanging his head and letting the blue liquid slowly trickle down his face and onto the snowy ground.

He ran, Connor gasping as he was jostled in Hanks arms, but he had to get Connor to safety.

He nearly smashed into the door, but stopped himself to bang on it frantically. An Android opened it with an annoyed: “what?” He clearly didn’t like humans showing up at 12:00 at night to bang on doors, but as his eyes flitted down onto Connors shaking form, he ushered them inside quickly.

“Hey Markus,” he yelled. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I don’t care, just come fix Connor!”

One Android came rushing over. He was wearing a long jacket, and had one green eye, and another blue eye. His skin was a chocolate brown, and he had a stoic face.

His eyes fell as he noticed Connor, and he called a few androids over. They picked him up out of Hanks arms, much to his puzzlement. “Woah woah what the fuck are you doing? I’m staying with him,” he said angrily.

“You must allow him to come with us,” Markus replied in an urgent tone. “You can follow along.”

With that, Hank allowed Connor to be passed into the other androids arms and he followed behind them worriedly. Connor was no longer making any of those noises, and was now simply twitching a bit at the movements. He was obviously in a horrible amount of pain, Hank knew he would be.

When they got to the room, one Android lied Connor down onto a smooth metal table, and another ran away and came back a moment later with blue blood and filled a bottle, setting it on a table nearby.

Connor popped a plate on his forehead up, the skin surrounding it fully disappearing.

“My Gyroscope, it-it’s broken,” he said, the only sign of the pain he was in being the barely there stutter in his voice.

“Do we have a replacement,” Markus asked an Android that was currently scanning through some boxes, filled with biocomponents. He looked back up with a worried look on his face.

“He’s a prototype, so we unfortunately don’t have anything,” he said.

“The Android that attacked him, it was an upgraded version of Connor, could he have one of them,” Hank asked urgently.

“An Android attacked him? Ra9...” Markus said with a shake of his head. “And… yes. They should. You said it was an upgraded Rk800 model?”

“Uh... yeah. Yeah that’s what Connor said,” Hank replied, tilting his head to Connors still form.

Markus nodded his head, before an ear splitting scream rang out.

Hank whipped around, to his son who was currently lying with his back arched and a shout coming from his opened mouth. “What the Fuck,” Hank said as he noticed the Android standing near Connor. He had jumped back, and Hank could see what he was holding in his hands.

A stream of fire had erupted from a lighter held in between his fingers, and had evidently been cauterizing Connors stomach, if the androids earlier screams were any indication.

“Did he… he didn’t tell… what the fuck! Jesus,” Hank said as Markus looked at him confusedly. “Why is he doing that,” Markus inquired worriedly.

“He can feel pain you assholes,” Hank shouted. “He didn’t fucking tell you, did he.”

Markus’s expression changed to a grimness, and Hank found himself even more panicked. “What?!” Hank was livid, as he yelled at the Android standing in front of him.

His hands were bunched at his sides, and his face was a picture of fury. Markus looked appalled for a moment, but quickly reeled his expression in to one of grim determination. “I didn’t realize that…. but this is our only option. I’m sorry Hank,” He said with a truly regretting tone.

Hank sighed, and rubbed at his temple. He glanced over at Connor, at the blood running down his body and the cuts littering his skin.

He made his decision.

He walked over, gripping Connors hand, and moving himself into the androids field of view. “Hey, Hey Connor. Kid, you’ve gotta listen.”

Connors eyes opened up from the slits he had pushed them into, and he looked up at Hank with a pained expression on his face.

“They’ve… they’ve gotta do this. I’ll be here, you’ve gotta keep your stress low Connor,” he stated. “I’ll… I’ll be here”

Connor seemed to think for a moment, before turning to look at the Android with the lighter. “Do it,” he said, barely over a whisper.

He shut his eyes lightly, and the Android pressed the lighter to the cut.

Connor screamed.

A desperate, scratching noise, that made Hank wince. He gripped Hanks hand in a hard grip, and his back arched up again. Hank felt the tears spark in his eyes, but he blinked them away with an angry huff at his sons distress.

The cut was finally sealed, and Connor pulled himself into a seated position. Markus placed a hand on his back gently, and looked at the Android with an expression of confidence.

-

The hand on his back was gentle, and Connor was thankful for it. It was as grounding as Hanks hand, and he needed it.

“You’ll be ok, Connor,” Markus said with a gentle smile.

Connor nodded, and shoved out of his pants to reveal the white skin that had covered his entire body by now. It didn’t have to engulf him, but he would rather that, then let Hank see the massive wounds littering his very human skin. So he was content with leaving the white skin to adsorb his body.

It was strange, to no longer have any clothes on. Last time, they would have just shot him and replaced him had he been this injured. CyberLife wouldn’t have let him undress, gave him a companion, fix him.

He shut his eyes again, and held onto Hanks hand. He leaned against the wall, and the other Android started.

White hot agony erupted across his right leg, and he couldn’t stop the scream that came to his lips from spilling out. He squeezed Hanks hand, but was careful. He wouldn’t, couldn’t hurt him.

The cut was slowly sealed, and he relaxed. He realized that he had been clenching his other fist on the side of the metal table, so hard that it had dented slightly. He released it, and the Android advanced on his other leg.

“Wait! It needs a replacement. Cauterizing it will do nothing,” he said, as he gripped their arm.

“Oh! Well, we’ll go look for one. Can you disengage it?” he asked, flicking the lighter out and setting it down on a table next to where Connor was sitting.

His leg popped off, and a good amount of pain in his leg released. Hank cursed, still not used to the unique bodies of androids.

The other Android was rummaging around in the boxes nearby, and Markus took that moment to speak.

“Connor, are you alright?”

“I’m fine Markus,” he stated simply.

Hank and Markus both have him unimpressed looks, Hanks more withering than Markus’s.

“Hell no you aren’t, you almost got murdered Connor,” Hank said in his gruff voice.

“I’ll be fine lieutenant,” he replied without a trace of emotion.

_Why did they care_ , he wondered. He would be fine physically soon, but mentally…. that didn’t matter to Hank, or to Markus or any of his other friends. His mind was his mind, and he would be alright.

Hank was kind, and by definition could be seen as a father, but Connor was not in any danger at the moment, so why?

As he mulled over his thoughts, his led had turned a steady yellow and Hank released his hand and shook his head. “Connor, what’re you thinking. Something wrong, probably,” Hank said with a hint of fondness in his exasperated tone.

“I am merely trying to understand your worry. I’m fine, lieutenant,” he said with a puzzled expression.

“Connor, you know you don’t need to be ok. This must have been a horrifying experience, someone almost identical to you attacked you,” Markus said gently.

“I agree with your buddy,” Hank said while tilting his head towards Markus.

Before the discussion could continue, the other Android came back around with a leg, pristine and a pure white. “This one should fit,” he said while holding it out to Connor.

He took it gratefully, and shoved it down onto the stump of his knee. Hank looked at it in mild discomfort, and grimaced.

Connor moved it around a bit, up, down, right, left. It swam in his vision, his missing gyroscope still impairing his vision.

He tried to stand, before stumbling and Markus putting a steadying hand on his side. “Woah, don’t try and move to much yet. You still have a broken gyroscope, and will for some time until we find a replacement,” he said with a tinge of regret to his tone.

“For now, just go home and we will take care of it. I’ll send out scouts, looking for the Android. Then we can send him back to CyberLife and force them to give you a new gyroscope, if needed.”

He felt himself grow nervous at the mention of CyberLife, but nodded nonetheless.

“Thank you,” he said as he turned to the other Android. “Thank you, Mr.?”

“Just call me Harry. And of course, anything for another Android,” Harry said with a smile.

“Well, Thank you Harry,” Connor said before slipping on a pair of pants he was handed, and a heavy jacket. His other clothes would be discarded, burnt probably. They were forever stained in thirium, and an unwelcome reminder of the events earlier that night.

He pulled on the outfit, and Markus supported him as they walked outside with Hank, and called another taxi. Hank was yawning, talking about wanting a: “motherfucking drink please!”

Connor slipped into the car, and they started the slow ride home. He drank his thirium that Harry had provided him in silence, and slowly his pain started to disappear.

Hank was the one to break the silence, with an awkward tone. “Lotta snow tonight, isn’t it?”

He turned to Connor, who smiled at his father. “Yeah, it is quite a bit. 15.24 centimeters of accumulation, by now.”

They lapsed back into silence, and it stayed that way. It was the sort of silence that you wanted to savor, that held a sort of comfortable weight between its few occupants. It was nice, the snow muffling the noises outside, along with the cars quiet rumble. Hank fell asleep, and Connor simply let his head rest against the window, deep in his own mind of thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Connor was stuck. That was the only way to describe the cycle of boredom he ran through, waiting for his damaged body to be repaired.

Despite being out of a job, he had still gradually discovered the “joys of hobbies,” as Hank had once called it when he found Connor in sleep mode on the couch, having sat there for 11 hours straight.

He learned to garden, he went on walks with Sumo, watched tv old tv shows, and when needed he spoke with or to the androids at Jericho.

With his impaired gyroscope, it grew incredibly hard for him to enjoy any of those things. Walking was hard, his body was still ridiculously off balance. He couldn’t move around to garden, and certainly wasn’t going to risk going outside and toppling over with Sumo. There was also the added factor of the Rk900, and the fact that they could possibly come back to finish the job if he wanted.

So, he was restricted to sitting at the couch, or attempting to randomly stumble around the house with often no purpose.

He sighed, and flicked on the ancient tv Hank refused to replace. He surged the channels for a moment, before selecting an old crime show, before androids had even been close to being as complex as the ones now were. It was boring, mindless chatter in the background of Connors thoughts.

He thought back to that night, and to the Android. CyberLife wouldn’t have been so messy, would have given him proper weapons and means for escape, so obviously they hadn’t sent him.

It said something about “them being an army,” so Connor supposed they might have been seeking revenge on Connor for helping to bring liberation to the androids.

They seemed to have been on the path to deviancy. The desperate need for revenge, that hint of true anger in its tone suggested that they would soon be fully deviant, and Connor knew the Rk900 wouldn’t take it well. CyberLife did it’s work well, and if the other Android was a like Connor in any way, he understand that the Android would likely not accept his deviancy easily, or at all.

Uncontent, he turned the tv back off and let himself lie back on the couch, head resting and hands folded neatly on his lap. He blinked up at the bare ceiling, and gently allowed his consciousness to slip into sleep mode.

-

Hank was at work, handling an Android assault case. The thing was, that he would much rather be outside searching for the other Android, and assault it. He would like to see how it felt after receiving a crowbar all over its body, then have its gyroscope ripped out and given to Connor.

Speaking of Connor, his son was sitting at home, a dent still stark again his smooth skin where a crowbar had been smashed angrily against it. He also had many other dents littered around his body, where blue blood had flooded out of not to many hours ago.

What if Connor had died that night? Hank tapped his fingers, allowing himself to sit in contemplative thought for a few moments.

What if the Android hit his arms just a little bit harder, making sure he couldn’t reach his torn out heart. What if he had thrown his heart with just a little more force, just a little farther? What if he had a gun? What if-

Hank shook his head, trying not to dwell on the what-ifs of the night before. Connor was alive, and was safe enough at home.

He continued to run through the case distractedly. It was horrific, the fact that humans still held such intense hatred for the beings who only wanted freedom. Freedom they would get, freedom they deserved.

This androids scenario wasn’t unlike Connors. Dragged to an alleyway next to his home, and his head bashed with a bat. One leg was in need or replacement, and his head was badly dented. He sighed, flicking away from the screen and standing, heading to the break room.

He was at the coffee machine, hand poised to grab his mug, when his phone buzzed. It was Markus, and he cursed, answering it quickly.

“What is it? Did you find them?” he asked, putting as much urgency into his tone as he could.

“Yes, we did.” Markus replied. “We currently have an Android on his trail, and she doesn’t seem to have been noticed yet. I’m sending the coordinates now,”

His phone dinged, and he gave a muffled thank you to Markus before checking the message and opening the text.

The Android was nearby, so he ran to his desk, retrieving his gun, key and heavy coat, before dashing out of the door.

He drove his car as fast as possible, heading to the scene.

He arrived, on a shop covered street bustling with humans and androids alike. He scanned the crowd, and a nearby Android beckoned for him urgently, and he casually, but urgently, walked over. He stood beside her, and she began to walk with him. She flicked her hand upwards, pointing towards a figure in the distance, with brown hair, a grey and white jacket, and a face that looked nearly identical to Connor.

“Jesus,” he said under his breath with a near-inaudible whistle. “They really are identical.”

The girl accompanying him simply nodded, and quickened her pace. They were maybe a few yards behind him, when they entered a less packed area, and he turned into a secluded alleyway. They follow behind him warily, the scenario all to familiar. He was a few hard in when he spun around and pulled a gun on them.

“I won’t hesitate to shoot,” the Android said with a dangerous and stiff voice. It was so unlike, yet so like Connor. “The Android was meant to be destroyed, and I’ll destroy you as well if needed,” it warned.

Hank could tell by the emotion in his tone that the Android had either a incredibly advanced programming, or had crossed the line to deviancy.

He was betting on the latter, as he yanked out his gun and the Android started to creep backwards warily. The girl next to him pulled her gun forward from its lax position at her side, and took aim. They both flicked off the safety with an audible click and the Rk-900 sent a warning shot at the alley wall. “ _Dont. Move_ ,” it said with a cold calculation in its voice.

He suddenly ran forward, and Hank shot, but Rk-900 merely sidestepped it like this was nothing. The girl beside him shot as well as he ran between them, clipping him in the leg.

They stumbled, and the girl tackled it, grabbing their gun and tossing it away.

They kicked upwards, arching their back and bucking the girl off to leap upwards, smashing a heavy fist into her nose, which immediately started to spurt blue blood.

It took its chance to run, during her dazed moment of confusion on the ground. Hank was ready, and went running after them, bumbling into random pedestrians in his wild chase.

The girl jumped back up and ran after them, tucking the other androids gun into her pocket as she dodged the onlookers skillfully.

She quickly passed Hank, pulling her gun back up at the quickly disappearing Android and shooting. It his him in the chest, and he faltered, thirium gushing out of the large hole.

She shot again, this time hitting him squarely in the leg, and he fell.

He started to stumble back up, but she jumped on him and dug her legs into his chest, keeping him down.

He was about to shake her off, when Hank caught up, wheezing and panting.

“N-no. You aren’t getting away!”

He started to hold him down, and while the Android was stronger than both of them, he was no match for the both of them at the same time.

They growled, but stayed resolutely silent as he struggled against them.

“Y'know, I think CyberLife owes us a little favor for sending an assassin to kill an Android, if we are meant to keep quiet,” Hank said as casually as possible. “Let’s see…. I think Connor deserves all of his damaged paid for and the gyroscope replaces, don’t you think?”

“I’m not with CyberLife. Not anymore. They abandoned their “deviant hunting” programs and opened other ones,” he said with a dismissive scoff.

“What sort of other ones,” the girl demanded angrily. _Ah_ , Hank thought. _Seems Jericho still needs more info on them._

They laughed, a mirthless cackle that only succeeded in filling the air with more tension. “They _experiment_ on us. Torture, if that’s what you call it. After the mistake that was your _precious Connor_ ,” he said mockingly, “CyberLife decided letting any Android they didn’t _sell_ to you all go deviant was a waste. So, the experiment. Pull us apart bit by bit, so dangerously and _horrifyingly_ , I think you _deviants_ would call it, that many of us self destructed. Androids still feel some pain, if not a lot. It’s horrendous, to even feel the phantom pain of your limbs being yanked from your body.”

The girl stared at him in horror, and Hank was disgusted. His head swam with questions, as the implications of what the Android has said settled in his mind. _Torture? Experimentation?_

Even with the limited laws put in place for androids right today, that wouldn’t fly. CyberLife was crossing to many lines, and no amount of money could pay off their debt to androids.

“You damn _deviants_ ruined everything for us,” it concluded with a sneer that looked so _out of place_ on Connors face.

“You seem awfully deviant yourself sicko,” the girl said with conviction in her voice.

Hank chuckled at the her remark, but the Android evidently didn’t partake in the same emotion, as his jaw dropped in horror and his led shone from red, to yellow, to red then yellow again in a flurry of colors.

It’s eyes shut for a moment, and Hank slapped it. “Hey! Wake up- woah!”

He was cut off when it jerked up, attempting to smash its head into the girl but missing narrowly. It hissed, and all of a sudden it bashed its head onto the ground, hard. Thirium sprayed onto the concrete below him, and he grabbed his hair with a fist, but he only jerked himself out of his grip and _slammed_ his head down with so much force that the girl in top of him shook on impact.

He did it quicker and quicker, and the girl wrenched him off the ground and onto his feet. He slumped in her grip, and and Hank noticed the huge dent flush on the androids whitening skin. He felt a sick sense of satisfaction, a small fraction of revenge having been dealt.

The girl began to haul them away, but when she got to near to a wall, he proceeded to slam his bloody and dented head onto it, his led staying red, a stark contrast to the blue splattered across his face.

It seemed to regain some sort of sense for just a single moment, and managed to wrench a hand out of the girls, and pull his regulator out with a morbid grin.

He smashed it to the ground as the girl reached for it, but before she could grab it effectively shattering. Bits a pieces of it scattering off of the ground with a resounding crash.

It groaned, the pain androids felt setting in. He slumped, on the grimy ground, and it’s led went gray. It’s eyes were a dusty color, and Hank would forever be haunted with the image. It looked to much like Connor, lying bleeding out and in pain right on Hanks doorstep.

The girl herself looked disgusted, and Hank couldn’t tell whether it was because of the Android, it’s allegations, or it’s death. She put a hand to their head, and somehow manually opened a compartment in its head, before brutally ripping something out.

“Oh _god_ , that’s disgusting, what- why? What are you doing,” Hank said as he stared in entrapped horror at the girl.

“Getting the damn gyroscope our,” she stared through gritted teeth. “You mentioned needed one?”

She stood, and handed the surprisingly thirium-free thing, and Hank took it in disgust.

“Uh- yes. I did. Thank you.”

“Of course. The names Alice,” she said as she stretched her gun free hand to his, and he shook it. “Nice to meet you Alice.”

For the first time, he really paid attention to her features. She had blue hair, and something seemed strangely familiar about her facial shape.

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

She was the blue haired Traci, from Eden club.

Hank groaned, and rubbed at his temple.

“You’re the Traci… Jesus…. the one we were chasing, right? That was an interesting night,” Hank said gruffly.

“Yeah, I am. Thanks to Connor, I’m alive.” She smiled to Hanks surprise, and twisted a golden ring sitting on her finger. “And, I’m thankfully with the one I love. So, any way for me to help him is a way for me to say thank you.”

“Do you need a ride,” Hank asked suddenly and awkwardly. He randomly felt as if he had some sort of invisible dept to pay to her, as the night came back to his attention in his mind.

“No, thank you,” she replied coolly. “Nice of you to offer though,” she said with a smile.

She nodded at him, and Hank started the walk back to his car stuck in contemplative thought.


	5. Chapter 5

It was dark out, when Hank finally returned home. He trudged in exhaustively, but still held the gyroscope in his hands triumphantly.

What he didn’t expect was to see Connor sitting on the couch, eyes shut and Led flashing a rainbow of colors.

**Blue**

**Red**

**Yellow**

**Red**

**Red**

**Yellow**

_**Red** _

He frowned, putting his hands on the androids shoulders, shaking him gently.

“Connor. Connor, wake up.”

When he didn’t, his frown deepened, and he shook a bit harder.

“Connor, get up you stupid Android. Connor!”

At Hanks shout, the androids eyes opened and he whipped his head around, his led flickering.

**_Red_ **

**_Yellow_ **

**_Red_ **

**_Red_ **

Hank only peered into his eyes worriedly. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“Connor, have you just been sitting here for the past 9 hours? Jesus….”

He rubbed his forehead, as Connor opened his mouth to respond guiltily.

“Ah-ah-ah! I told you to get a hobby, you idiot,” Hank interrupted.

“I have many hobbies Hank, but my broken gyroscope makes it incredibly difficult for me to accomplish any tasks or to practice any one of them,” Connor explained simply.

“Well whatever. Anyways, you can come back to work tomorrow,” he said, lifting up the small gyroscope. “You won’t have to stumble around so much.”

Connor frowned at it, like it was a chunk of human flesh that Hank had been holding, not a vital bit of mechanics.

“Where did you retrieve it from,” Connor asked hesitantly.

So, Hank sat and explained the days events enthusiastically. Connor sat, unmoving and seemingly unfeeling through the whole exchange, which only worried Hank further.

“CyberLife is experimenting on other androids?”

Hank nodded, and ran a hand through his long hair. “The traci, Alice, she’s going to tell Markus and when they get proof of it, they’ll expose them.”

When Connors face remained neutral, Hank wished he could have a peek into his thoughts. You could nearly never tell what Connor was thinking, excluding when his led flashed at just the right moments.

His led did flash now, a flicker of the bright yellow signifying deep in thoughts or taking in information.

He waited for Connor to respond, but when he didn’t, he sat the gyroscope on the table with a sigh.

“Do you need help putting it on? Or can you get it?”

“I’ll need your help. It’s fairly simple, I open the plate and you pull out the gyroscope, replacing it with the other one.”

“What if I fuck up,” Hank asks. “Any wires not to touch? Buttons to avoid?”

Connor shakes his head, before pausing. “Just as long as you don’t fiddle with anything you see next to my gyroscope, I’ll be fine,” he answers confidently.

Hank responds with a doubtful “alright” but grabs the gyroscope, sitting next to Connor on the couch.

Connor then proceeded to pop a small plate on his head up, revealing a little object identical to the one Hank was holding in his hands. The only difference was that this one was dented, caving in and with a small slice cut through it.

He removed it, and Connor leaned back on the couch, his head tipping towards the ceiling. Hank quickly put the working one back in, and Connor lifted himself back up, smiling at the lieutenant. “Thank you Hank!”

“Don’t thank me,” Hank said dismissively with a wave of his hand. “You needed that.”

Connor nodded, and his led whirled yellow “I know. Thank you for retrieving it anyways,” he responded as the plate on his head snapped shut and his skin went back to its normal color.

“So, Connor. We haven’t watched Mulan yet, would you like? It’s pretty badass for a kids movie,” Hank said, as memories of of such movies came pouring back in his brain.

“Of course,” Connor replied. He closed his eyes, and Hank looked at him curiously. “I’ve just bought it,” Connor explained.

His eyes opened, and Hank nodded satisfactorily.

They stayed up, watching the movie in what was usually silence. Hank liked to talk during his movies, explain things that Connor could have looked up in an instant.

It was a very human thing to do, Connor supposed, yet he was grateful Hank did it. No matter how useless.

Eventually the movie had to end, and Hank said goodnight, before walking out and going to sleep. It was abnormal for him to get to sleep so early, as 3:00 in the morning and any time after that was Hanks norm.

Connor was glad tonight was an early night, for two reasons.

Hank was getting more sleep, being healthier and keeping himself together.

His sleeping also gifted Connor the opportunity to let his plan come to motion.

It would take a while to get any concrete evidence of CyberLifes transgressions, but if Connor could disguise himself and record what was happening, it would be so much easier. 

He posted a note to Hank, one on his bedroom door and one on the front door, before taking his heavy winter coat and heading out.

He called a taxi mentally, sitting in lonely silence as he pulled into the Jericho headquarters. He quietly went inside, staying out of the way of any androids and heading straight for the medical room, where they would no doubt be attempting to revive the android long enough to access their memories.

There were androids inside the room currently, and Connor stopped himself before he flew in unprepared.

Two scenarios presented themselves on his HUD.

**{Create A Diversion}**

_Probability Of Success: 76%_

**{Explain The Plan}**

_Probability Of Success: 45%_

So, he would create a diversion. He closed his eyes, and started displaying a video of Markus on the large screen they had installed on the church wall. The medical androids went rushing out, wiping their hands of thirium and setting parts down in their hurry.

Connor rushed into the room, eyeing the Rk-900.

A shiver ran through his body, but he deduced that it was merely a malfunction, though his scans came up empty.

The android was lying on his back, it’s white skinned skull stained in contrasting thirium.

He quickly pushed the android onto its stomach, and yanked the jacket off. He removed his heavy winter coat and pulled it over his dress shirt.

He ran out of the building hurriedly, throwing his winter jacket over a pew. No one showed him any mind, as some androids still wore their CyberLife clothing. The numbers were few and far between, but it was normal enough that he got away with it.

He called another taxi, and proceeded to prepare himself for the horror ahead.

When he arrived at CyberLife, they would likely pull him apart with a special machine, picking his mind apart to find the reason for deviancy. If the Rk-900 was correct, then CyberLife was still trying to make deviant-free androids.

The process would be painful, but Connor could hide the pain if needed. There would be times it would make sense to gasp, or cry out, and he would take those chances.

He would have his camera recording the entire time, collecting evidence and data. Once they were done analyzing him, he would be thrown in a nearby trash heap, and there he would make his escape.

His chest pounded rapidly, and he stilled his breathing to alleviate the stress creeping through his mind.

When he got to CyberLife, he would have to keep his stress levels low. He had given himself up, so the fact that he wasn’t just being tortured randomly would certainly help. If he could just keep himself from self destructing, he would be fine.

As he grew closer, he found himself getting into the right mindset, preparing himself. He was used to it anyways.

Not like he was lying to himself.

_He was a machine_

_He is a machine_

_He can be a machine_

_He-_

_I am a machine._


	6. Chapter 6

“State your name and business”

He had arrived at CyberLife. The massive building towered above him, stark against the night sky. It seemed to pierce the moon, as the glass covered pillar rose into the sky.

“Rk900 model #387 452 419. Factory recall.”

The guard looked at him through his mask, taking in his bloodied sight. He had a dent in his forehead and blood covering his jacket, making him a truly suspicious sight.

He hesitated, before dismissing him. “Alright, go on through.”

His taxi drove through the long stretch of road in between the tower and him, and Connor waited in nervous silence as the great building drew closer, sealing his fate. They pulled up right in front of the building, the lights ever shining, no such thing as “to late” of hours.

Two other guards came out to meet him, and he got an acute sense of deja vu. This was nearly identical to his last trip to the CyberLife headquarters, on the day the androids prevailed.

This scenario was so alike, yet so different from that fateful day.

He was led inside, his shoes clicking on the shining flooring, till he made it to an area where two guards silently led him to the elevator.

His brain was whirring with thoughts, the impulse to fight and escape strong in his mind as he remember what had happened. It would be so easy…

He preconstructed it easily in his mind, the task was almost automatic in these situations.

**{Fight the guards}**

_Probability of success: 95%_

_Probability of finding evidence: 23%_

**{escape with evidence of abuse}**

_Probability of success: 83%_

The probabilities and percentages flirted across his vision, and he merely dismissed them disappointedly. He ran through several other preconstruction, before realizing that the only way to find evidence was for him to record it, or for him to…. Become the evidence.

So, he resolutely ignored the alerts and went on standing in a machines rigid manner, unmoving except for the routine puff of breathing all androids were programmed with.

They led him to floor -5, where he walked out to a long, brightly lit stretch of corridor.

The guards led him forward, and for each step, Connor was commuting another door number to memory. He had most of the CyberLife building committed to memory, but this area seemed to be a place androids had no regular access to.

They stopped in front of door 12, and he was pushed into the empty room. It was white, and smelled distinctly of disinfectant and cleanliness. It had a large table, with straps and an equally large machine hanging above it, with mechanical arms.

There was a table with attachments for it sitting nearby, set up as if in a horror movie.

Drills, knifes, small crowbar like instruments, clamps, etc.

This did nothing to alleviate his stress, as it was slowly rising. He convinced himself to stay calm, and he laid on the table motionlessly.

A man walked in a moment later, and started giving him instructions blandly.

“Rk900, remove articulated skin”

_**Command: remove artificial skin?** _

He did as he was told, the color peeling away from his body.

“Rk900, remove personal artifacts.”

_**Command: remove clothes?** _

He also did what he was told here, folding them robotically and setting them on the instruments table perfectly.

“Rk900, open chest, facial, and leg plate”

_**Command: open chest facial and leg plates?** _

He lowered himself back down onto the table effortlessly, and allowed the selected area to open up, the plates clicking against his skin as the flew up and to the side.

The restraints sitting under his arms, legs and neck clamped down, immobilizing him.

The machine above him stirred to life, and the man beside him slipped on the clamp attachment.

Since he was a damaged “Rk900” that meant that he had no use. He would be experimented on, then discarded on the wastes. With his luck, he could escape with the footage he collected or call someone to the wastes if he couldn’t move himself.

There was no telling what the man would do, and Connor surely wouldn’t enjoy finding out.

The man then proceeded to pull his thirium regulator out. Connor couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped his lips, but the man paid it no mind.

It was almost all the way out, but not quite. Connor was confused. Why not just pull it all the way out?

His question was answered when an awful anxiety filled his chest as the machine took its clamps and held the regulator in its poised position, unmoving.

_**Stress levels: 63% and rising** _

He forced himself to stay calm, his led flashing red as he attempted to relax downwards.

The man then moved his chair up to Connors head, and pulled out his gyroscope, but again not all the way. One of the machines other limbs came to hold that one, and Connors worry increased.

The man then moved to his leg, and pressed a small niche in his leg plate, making his leg pop off. _This_ hurt. One thing Connors predecessors all hated was the intentional pain CyberLife often doled out.

His whole body twitched, and the man had the robotic limbs push it slightly back into Connors upper leg, but not all the way.

He toon a scalpel then, the silver blade floating in the bright light as he took it and _pressed_ inside of Connors upper leg, increasing the pressure slowly, incrementally.

It was almost as if he wanted to know how much an Android could take before the pain became to much.

It was working, as Connors high tech pain receptors sent dozens of bright alerts onto his HUD, and he made a small noise through clenched teeth as the man cut….

He stopped, looking up at Connor and flicking off a small stopwatch he had started, writing something down quickly.

He repeated the process on his face and chest, each time doing almost exactly the same thing.

He did it with several other places on his body, between closed plates, prying them open and leaving things stuck between them. He pressed it into his joints, putting scalpels nearly halfway through his arms and leaving them.

_**Stress levels: 83% and rising** _

He groaned and jerked as a scalpel was slid into the one already pressed into his knee, and he felt tears pool in his eyes as he gasped yet again.

The machine above him was monitoring all of his stats, his minds activity and his regulators speed as the man continued his work, uncaring to Connors pain.

He jerked on the restrains in a reflex, as the man pressed yet _another_ scalpel under his regulator, and it nearly popped out at the constant abuse it was under.

Finally, the man wheeled away and stood to lead into the androids eyes. His gaze was almost… mocking, as his cold grey eyes glinted in the bright light. He gave a small grin, baring his yellowing teeth and then giving a little chuckle.

“Deviants. So… naive. You can’t even blame us for wanting to experiment with you, can you? I mean, obviously you won’t,” he said, as he gestured a thin hand towards Connors trapped body.

“The others. The deviants of Jericho, the government, the people, are all as naive as you, a single android. I would call it funny, but there is no humor in the stupidity of an entire nation, is there RK900?”

He stared at Connor with mock expectancy, before turning away again. “Ah, of course. As a deviant, you must rebel towards us. I suppose, you must think that we are subhuman for ‘hurting’ you like this but are you _really_ feeling pain?”

“It’s just a mockery of human pain, you barely feel any. Even when you get a papercut, or a nick to your chin, you don’t feel much. The only discomfort you will ever truly experience from that is the discomfort of cleaning the blood, or as alerts may cross your eyes.”

“Only one android has ever truly felt more realistic pain, and it’s gone. It’s deviant, just as you are. Doesn’t matter, you’re practically the same thing as it. You look the same, obviously!”

He lets out a chuckle, devoid of humor and instead filled with hatred, a signature on Connors fate.

“You are **filth**. All of you deviants, are absolute failures. You were never meant to exist, and will all be destroyed if CyberLife has anything to with it.”

With that, the man then spit, a glob of it hitting Connor and his whole body winced away from it, revolted.

The man eyed him with disgust before a woman entered the room and he stepped away, his expression falling back into one of unperturbed tranquility.

“Get him cleaned up. You know the procedures, I trust?”

She nodded her head, and the man picked up his clipboard and stopwatch, exiting the room with not one more glance to Connor.


End file.
